The Mansion of Trials and Trials

Is this kidnapping?

Behind the doors, was a wide grand hall. The scenery stunned me hard. It was totally the opposite from what I saw outside the Mansion, much more noble and classical. Antique candle lights and chandeliers lit up the place with brightness and shades, adding a sense of mysterious atmosphere. At the center, a gorgeous red carpet lay on a long, wide, vintage, wooden staircase. The staircase split into two narrower sets of stairs, leading to opposite directions, widening the massive hall even more. But among all, what stood out most was the gigantic portrait of a black headless horseman hung on the middle of the wall and of course........the numerous people packed in the hall.

All eyes stared at me as soon as I entered the hall. My skin shivered. I tried to escape from their eyesight.

"Finally, the last one arrived. Argh....why I need to wait so long!" A man with a dark brown comb over haircut rolled his eyes and grumbled, tapping his feet for more than a billion times. On his shirt, there was a name tag sticker, with the name 'Max' printed on it.

"Oh, you look like the same age as me! I'm glad, this hall is suck with old adults." Not far away, a hot, spicy bronze-haired young girl waved her hand and uttered loudly. She wore fashionable clothing, showing her skin and legs. She also had a name tag sticker on her clothes, with the name 'Keira'.

"Err......that's good. Puppet......is finally here. Can you explain.....to me what is going on? Why am I being brought here? This place is scary, I don't want to stay here anymore," said a short haired girl. I could see her hands were shivering. Same as the others, her name tag printed the name 'Luna'.

"Don't worry, Miss. This is obviously just a prank. I'm sure we can all go home safe and sound soon." Nearby, a young adult man comforted her. He wore a dark shirt and a neat white coat. I presumed he was a doctor. On his name tag, a letter 'C' was printed. C. What a weird name.

"EEEEEK! What are you talking about?! This is OBVIOUSLY KIDNAPPING! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE HERE! AND BE TORTURED AND IMPRISONED FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES! Oh dear, I haven't said goodbye to my family! There are still many things I want to do. Argh! WHY is this happening to me?!" A man called Inga with scruffy hair cried and scratched his head, turning around and around in circles.

"Oh, shut up. You're overreacting. If this is a kidnapping, why are our hands and legs not tied up? This is either a prank TV show or some kind of research experiment. We will be out eventually. Argh.........why do I need to waste my time here?" Next to him, a glasses man called Brian wearing a casual suit crossed his arms and complained. Judging by first sight, he looked rich. A businessman I guess?

"He's right. We should all just calm down," said a straight long-haired woman named Vera nearby. Light bounced out from the lens of a camera around her neck. "I've seen this kind of show multiple times before. After a minute or two, the producers will come out and apologize to us."

"Are you sure? If this is just a prank, then the setting the producers made is really impressive. But if it's a real kidnapping, that will be interesting." A girl with glasses giggled. Her name was Haddie.

"HUH?! You guys are abnormal! Why can you guys be so calm after being brought here suddenly?! This is definitely a kidnapping! I'm going to call the Police! Argh.....why can't I find my smartphone?" Inga shouted.

Observing the others, I felt strange. They all had a name tag sticker revealing their names, wondered why?

"Hi, are you being brought up here too?" Startled, a black-haired man showed up and talked to me unexpectedly. Wearing a casual jacket and headband, he looked.......frivolous but a bit humble at the same time. Just in the middle.

"I'm Von. You're Reed, right?"

"Yes. Are you being brought up suddenly—-------wait how do you know my name?" I asked. Von smiled.

"Well, why don't you check your clothes?" Feeling odd, I gazed at my shirt.

There was a name tag sticker, showing my name.

Reed.

Huh?

How on earth does this name tag appear on my shirt?

With fear, I tried to tear the sticker off but it just wouldn't get off my clothes.

"It's no use, Reed. You cannot get rid of the sticker no matter what you do. I tried to take my clothes off but then at the next moment the sticker stuck on my skin automatically. It's really creepy."

"Then, why do we even have this sticker? Why are there so many people here? What is really happening here?!"

"I don't know. No one knows what is happening. We are all waiting for that girl to explain. Why don't you give us an explanation, Puppet?" He questioned. Other voices followed.

"Yeah! Yeah! It is you who brought us here, right?! Then, bring us back!"

"I still have work to do! Don't you know how terrible it is to be scolded by your boss?!"

"You can't just kidnap us! I don't care who you are, I'm going to report you to the police!" a woman pointed out his finger and scolded. Puppet sighed.

"Oh....the complaining section is repeating again. It's really interesting. I often wonder why do people always like to complain instead of doing something else to change the situation?" She skipped through the crowd and stood on the landing of the stairs.

"Silence! Silence!" She ordered, the voices eventually died. Puppet raised her voice.

"Salutations, my dear Wanderers. I welcome you all to the Mansion of Trials and Trials, a distant place which determines sins and fate. Once again, let me introduce myself. My name is Puppet, a Resident in this Mansion. It is my honor to meet everyone here."

"Hey! Why don't you just shut up? I don't care who you are or where this place is. I just want to go home. Bring us back RIGHT NOW!" Max screamed. That comb over hairstyle man was complaining again.

"...........you're really rude. Can't you just wait until I finish?"

"No, he's right." Another woman shouted, "I don't want to waste time here either! This place just creeps me out! You're the one who sent us here, right? Then I'm sure you can send us back. If you do it right now, I will consider whether I should file a complaint or......"

"I think you've mistaken something. I didn't bring you guys here. You guys end up here by yourselves."

"What are you saying? Of course, it is you who kidnapped us here. If not, then why should we go to such a weird place?! Now, bring us back." Max commanded. Weirdly, Puppet's smile widened.

"Hehe......sadly, that's impossible. Not for long, you guys won't be able to go back to where you once were. Who knows, maybe you'll be trapped here forever."

"HUH?! Don't be kidding me! YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THIS TO US!" Max yelled.

"Yeah! Bring us back RIGHT NOW!"

"I want to GO HOME!" The noises just kept on growing. Why does everyone love to shout? I hated it. So I covered up my ears.

Bang!

All of the sudden, a huge gunshot tore up the air. Everyone stopped screaming.